Thursday, June 3, 2010

Do You Have Carpenter Ants?The presence of a few foraging ants in the home, or 1 or 2 winged queens during swarming times does not mean you have an infestation. These foragers may merely be scout ants seeking food or nesting sites or queens that have flown in an open door. Carpenter ant colony invades and damages the integrity of the wood within a house.Foraging ants have been seen entering homes along telephone wires or along branches touching the roof or even from ground trails that come under a door. In such cases, the house may be a nesting area.
If ants are coming in, there may be a nest outside the house and eventually they may establish satellite colonies in some part of the structure. Be certain they are carpenter ants and not moisture ants, termites or yellowjackets.
Carpenter Ants - Seattle Pest Control Evidence of InfestationPresence of ants (workers or winged reproductives): An occasional ant may be a scout looking for food and may not indicate the presence of a nest, but continuous or numerous ants are a sign of nesting. Carpenter Ant Life Cycle
Reproductive ants (winged males and females) leave the nest anytime from early January through June (different colonies leaving at different times). Mating takes place in swarms, with the first mating swarms noted in May (others in June, July, August and September).
Mated queens find a suitable place to live and chew off their wings, excavate a small home and begin laying eggs. Mated queens lay eggs which become workers or queens. Unmated queens or queens which have run out of sperm can produce only males.
By the end of the summer either workers have emerged or the larvae from late eggs become dormant. No feeding occurs during the winter months (November, December, January).
The dormant phase ends about mid-January, when the queen begins laying eggs again.
The rate of growth of a colony from one queen in the first year, or season, is very low (with only 1 or 2 dozen workers).

Most wasps develop by feeding on insects. Bees develop on a diet of nectar or pollen.Almost all insect stings result from yellowjackets and an insect newly established in the state, the European paper wasp.Yellowjackets, hornets and paper wasps make nests of paper. Honey bees and bumblebees make nests of wax. Solitary bees and wasps nest in holes in the ground, rotten wood or natural cavities. Some wasps even make mud nests.

Ampm Exterminators provides bees exterminator, wasps control, yellow jacket control & hornet pest control Services in Seattle & Eastside regions of WA. Wasps and bees can be a serious nuisance problem throughout seattle, particularly late in the summer when certain yellowjacket wasps forage at garbage and outdoor food areas. In overall balance, however, these insects are beneficial in their activities, particularly as predators of pest insects and as pollinators. It is important to distinguish between the various wasps and bees because their potential as problems and their control differ.

What are bedbugs?Eastside pest control company will help identify and remove bedbugs from the home.Bedbugs are small, wingless insects that feed on the blood of people and animals while they sleep. They are easily moved from room to room on infested objects.Bedbugs prefer locations where they can hide easily and feed regularly, like sleeping areas. Their flattened bodies allow bedbugs to hide in extremely small locations: under wallpaper, behind picture frames, in electrical outlets, inside box springs, in mattress pads and in night tables.Newly hatched bedbugs feed as soon as food is available. Bedbugs can live from several weeks to up to a year and a half without feeding. Older bedbugs can go even longer without feeding.Bed bugs have flat bodies and may sometimes be mistaken for ticks or small cockroaches. Bed bugs feed by sucking blood from humans or animals. Adult bed bugs are reddish brown in color, appearing more reddish after feeding on a blood meal. Nymphs are clear in color and appear bright red after feeding. The wings of bed bugs are vestigial, so they cannot fly. However, they are able to crawl rapidly. Temperatures between 70 F-80 F are most favorable for bed bugs, allowing them to develop into adults most rapidly and produce up to three generations per year.Bed bugs can live in any area of the home and can reside in tiny cracks in furniture as well as on textiles and upholstered furniture. They tend to be most common in areas where people sleep and generally concentrate in beds, including mattresses, boxsprings, and bed frames.Bed bugs are most active at night and bite any exposed areas of skin while an individual is sleeping. The face, neck, hands, and arms are common sites for bedbug bites.How do I prevent a bedbug infestation?The first sign of bedbugs may be red, itchy bites on the skin, usually on the arms or shoulders. Bed bugs tend to leave straight rows of bites, unlike some other insects that leave bites here and there.Get rid of clutter.Vacuum often, including under and behind beds.Repair or remove peeling wallpaper and tighten loose electrical faceplates.Seal all cracks and crevices on wooden bed frames, between baseboards, and in walls, ceilings, windows, door frames and furniture.Check any entry points on walls that you share with neighbours, and openings that allow access to the inside of the wall (like areas where pipes, wires and other utility services enter).Check every item you bring into your home for the first time, including used books, new furniture, and garage sale or antique store furniture.Be very cautious with second-hand or refurbished items.New mattresses are often delivered in the same truck that carries away old mattresses, so be careful to check your new mattress before it enters your home. Insist that your new mattress be sealed before it is delivered.Never take a mattress or sofa from a curb.Check items before you put them in your vehicle and check your vehicle after helping a friend move.Remove and inspect all bed linens, including pillows. If you see signs of bedbugs, wash the linens using the hot cycle of your machine.Slowly lift up each corner of the mattress and examine all creases, tufts and buttons, along each side of any piping material sewn onto the edges, along mattress handles and air holes, and under pillow tops.Slowly lift up each corner and check where the box spring sits on the bed frame.Look closely at the top surface of the box spring, inside folds of material, along seams and where the fabric is stapled to the box spring. Also check along the edge of the cloth underside. If you see signs of bedbugs, flip the box spring upside-down and remove the cloth underside to look inside the box spring.Check all surfaces, crevices, screws, staples, tacks, and under wooden plugs that cover screw or nail holes on the bed frame, legs and headboard.Also go over the wall behind the bed (bedbugs can hide in wallpaper and electrical outlets). Remove electrical, telephone or cable faceplates to check behind them. Always be sure the power is turned off before opening an electrical outlet. Pay extra attention to gaps in the baseboard or rips or bumps in wallpaper.Wall baseboards closest to the bed, using the crevice tool to check inside gaps.Between the folds of curtains, along the curtain hem, inside curtain rods and under the hardware on the wall.Around window and door casings and frames, along the hinges and in the hole for the door latch.Under area rugs and the edges of carpets. Fold back the edges of wall-to-wall carpeting and check the carpet tack strips.Remove any loose cushions and check the creases, especially the seams and around the zippers of upholstered chairs and couches. Check the seating area and any creases along the sides and back of the chair or couch. Check the legs and where they join the upholstery, and where the fabric is tacked to the frame.Go over all corners and surfaces of wood furniture like dressers, cabinets, tables, chairs and bookshelves. Remove drawers and look at the inside, the top, sides, back and legs, paying extra attention to any cracks. Use the crevice tool to check any gaps
How do I get rid of bedbugs?Professional pest control operators can use a variety of tools to control bedbugs. These include liquid insecticide sprays, aerosol insecticide sprays, insecticidal dusts, diatomaceous earth, pressurized carbon dioxide snow, and steam and heat treatments. Whichever treatment is used, it will only be effective if physical control methods and preventative measures are used together.How do I make sure they don't come back?Avoid moving to another bedroom. While you may feel a strong need to do so, surviving bedbugs could tag along which might lead to another infestation. Instead, continue to use the same bedroom, monitor carefully and often for any surviving bedbugs, and take the steps below to protect yourself from being bitten.Completely enclose your mattress and box spring in zippered bed encasements available from allergy or pest control supply companies. Put duct tape over the zipper, because zippers have a space where bedbugs can enter or escape. Mattresses can also be wrapped and sealed in plastic film. As long as the encasement stays intact (no rips or holes), the bedbugs will not be able to get through it to bite you and will eventually die. It is a good practice to keep the mattress enclosed this way for a full year.Coat bed legs with double-sided carpet tape or petroleum jelly, or place the legs of the bed in leg protectors or glass jars with a bit of baby powder to trap the bedbugs on their way up or down the bed leg. Commercially available bed leg interceptors are available and are a way to detect bedbugs.Use white or light-coloured sheets. This makes it easier to spot them.Remove headboards completely.Paint existing wood furniture, including baby cribs, white for easier detection. (Use only paint that is safe for use on baby furniture.)Replace upholstered furniture with metal or plastic, or material that can easily be cleaned with soap and water.
How do I avoid bedbugs when travelling?Do a complete inspection of the room before bringing luggage, pets or other items in.Do not put your luggage on the bed. Place your luggage on a tile floor (like in the bathroom), away from any upholstered (soft) surfaces.Once you have checked the luggage stand (including where the straps are attached to the metal bars), keep your luggage on the stand instead of unpacking your belongings and placing them in the drawers.Inspect the sleeping area. Slowly lift up each corner of the mattress and examine the creases and tufts of the mattress and box spring, behind the headboard and the wall behind the bed, the pillows, bed coverings and bed skirt, the bed frame and legs.Use a flashlight to inspect the inside of the closet, paying special attention to any cracks or crevices.During your stay, place your shoes in an open area. Do not store anything under the bed.If you find signs of bedbugs, notify the front desk and ask for another room, or stay somewhere else. If you change rooms in the same hotel, make sure your new room is not next to the possibly infested room.Before bringing luggage into your home, place it on a hard surface away from any places bedbugs could crawl to and hide, and check it carefully.Unpack your clothing and check personal items (like hairbrush and cosmetic case).Wash all clothing and fabric items in hot water, regardless of whether you wore them or not.Dry non-washable items in the clothes dryer on the highest heat for 30 minutes.Vacuum your luggage. Throw out the vacuum bag in a sealed garbage bag right away. Wash any vacuum cleaner brush or nozzle attachments you used in hot water with detergent. For a bagless vacuum cleaner, empty the dust collector into a garbage bag, throw out the bag immediately, and also wash the dust collector in hot water with detergent.Avoid bringing your laundry in a cloth bag unless you plan to wash and dry the bag. Use light-coloured plastic baskets that are easy to inspect when they are empty.Do not set your laundry basket on the floor, or near the seating area or trash cans. Place your basket on top of the washer and check it thoroughly before putting clean laundry back into it.Check any chairs before you sit down.
Related linkshttp://www.ampmexterminators.com/Bedbugs-control.php